Two-speed golf mat

ABSTRACT

A golf putting mat for both indoor and outdoor use in which grass-simulating mat material has directionally oriented pile that resists the motion of the ball in one longitudinal direction of the mat more than in the reverse direction. Natural slow and fast conditions are obtained by using monofilament synthetic fibers 2 to 10 mils in diameter, with 2,000 to 8,000 fibers per square inch extending one-eighth to three-eighths inches above the mat backing and oriented between 5* and 15* off normal. Detachable or nondetachable putting holes are provided at both ends of the mat.

United States Patent Kolonel [451 June 13, 1972 [54] TWO-SPEED GOLF MAT Arthur Kolonel, 2661 South Course Dn've, Apt. 510, Pompano Beach, Fla. 33060 22 Filed: Jan.2,1970

[21] Appl.No.: 299

[ 72] Inventor:

[52] U.S. C1. ....273/l76 F, 273/176 .1, 161/62 [51] Int. Cl. ..A63b 67/02 [58] Field of Search ..273/l76, 195

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,551,263 12/1970 Carter et a1. ..273/1 76 J 2,384,723 9/1945 Brodzik et a1. ..273/l76 J 3,038,726 6/ 1962 Hesidence ..273/176 F Primary Examiner-George J. Marlo Attorney-Thomas N. Tarrant [57] ABSTRACT A golf putting mat for both indoor and outdoor use in which grass-simulating mat material has directionally oriented pile that resists the motion of the ball in one longitudinal direction of the mat more than in the reverse direction. Natural slow and fast conditions are obtained by using monofilament synthetic fibers 2 to 10 mils in diameter, with 2,000 to 8,000 fibers per square inch extending one-eighth to three-eighths inches above the mat backing and oriented between 5 and 15 off normal. Detachable or nondetachable putting holes are provided at both ends of the mat.

2 China, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUR 1 3 I972 Arrhur Kolonel Af/omey Field of the Invention The invention relates to golf putting mats.

Background of the Invention Accurate golf putting requires an infinite amount of practice. That practice itself is a common form of entertainment. Many devices have been marketed for facilitating backyard or livingroom putting. Common among these are simulated grass mats devised in numerous imaginative ways to better simulate true putting conditions or merely to improve the entertainment aspects.

In order to simulate the varying conditions of a golf course, U.S. Pat. No. 1,591,095 discloses a matin which grass-simulating fibers are longer in some areas to provide greater'resistance to the ball movement. This patent discloses an indoor golf game and is directed to simulating course variations other than putting green variations. In US. Pat. No. 2,384,723, a mat is disclosed which is intended to provide the correct resistance to ball movement for optimum simulation of a putting green. In that patent a pile fabric is utilized for the mat having the pile fibers inclined at about 45' against the direction of ball travel to provide a slower surface.

It is an important factor in golf putting practice to be able to adjust for different putting conditions. A wet green has a different speed then a dry green and slight difierences in the length and density of the grass can have considerable effect on the speed of the ball. Also grass normally is oriented in accordance with environmental conditions such as the direction of sunlight such that speed differs with the direction in which a ball is putted. There has been a'lack in prior art devices of flexibility in 'the speed" of artificially simulated putting greens.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention an artificially simulated putting green utilizes a grass-simulating pile fabric in which the pile is oriented to provide more resistance to the movement of a ball in one direction than in' the opposite FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the putting hole assembly taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of FIG. I taken along line 5-5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 depicts an artificially simulated putting green having mat portion 10 and putting hole assembly I I. In one embodiment, suited for indoor use, mat portion 10 has a length. Lrn, of 6 feet marked off at 1 foot intervals beginning 1 ft. from either end. Puttinghole assembly 11 has an exposed length, Lh, of 18 inches. The width, W, of mat 10 in this embodiment is 18 inches.

Hole 12 is a putting hole having acircumference of substantially 4 inches. In the embodiment described, the center of the putting hole is 4 inches from edge 14 of putting hole assembly 11. Putting hole assembly 11 has border 15 serving as a backstop. This border is suitably a 1 ii inch thick by 2 inch high length of foamed plastic or the like glued or otherwise bonded to the perimeter of assembly 11 vso asto form .a semicircular backstop. I g 5 Putting hole assembly 11 can be one piece integral with mat portion 10 or it can be removably attached as will be described below.

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of the invention having two putting hole assemblies 110 and 11b, one at each end of mat portion 10; As with the embodiment of FIG. 1, the putting hole assemblies can be integral with or detachable from mat portion 10. g

FIG. 3 depicts a portion of the golf mat carpet in cross-section. This same carpet material is used for boththe mat portion 10 and the putting hole assembly 11. In FIG. 3 the carpet is depicted as having pile 20with a three-layer backing 21.

- The backing is not necessarily critical, but one carpet material direction. The putting green is arranged in the form of a longitudinally extending mat either with a putting hole at each end or designed to permit shifting of the putting hole assembly from one end to the other. The pile fabric is selected. to approximate mean fast and slow conditions normally encountered in the green of golf courses. Thus it is an object of the invention to provide a two-speed artificial putting green.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a bidirectional artificial putting green in which one direction is faster than the other;

It is a further object of the invention to provide an artificial putting green with pile fabrics having angled fibers such that ball travel against the angled fibers approximates normal slow green" conditions and travel with the fibers approximates normal fast green" conditions;

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel artificial putting green extended in a longitudinal direction and having a putting hole at each end; and

It is still a further object of the invention to provide an artificial putting green in which a putting hole arrangement is shiftable from one end to the other of a longitudinal mat serving as the green."

Further objects and features of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification together with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a putting green having a putting hole assembly shiftable to either end.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a putting green having putting holes at each end.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the inventive putting green taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the angled pile and a ball moving against the pile.

used has a center layer 22 comprising a cloth fabric providing dimensional stability. Top layer 23 comprises a latex material embedding the secured ends of pile fibers 20. Bottom layer 24- comprises a layer of resilient foam plastic. In the present utilization, foam bottom layer 24 helps maintain the golf mat in position. Latex top layer 23 is useful in making pile carpets by a flocking process. In flocking, the fibers can be oriented electrostatically and the latex will hold the orientation after it has set. Thethickness of layers 22, 23 and 24 is not critical. In one carpet used, layers 22 and 23 were each about one thirty second inch thick while foam layer 24 was about one-sixteenth inch thick.

Pile fibers 20 are preferably a monofilament plastic which can be made of a vinyl or vinylidene composition, nylon or the like. Monofilament fibers are preferred due to their greater stiffness relative to multifilament fibers. Natural fibers can be used but are likely to be more expensive and less durable.

Using fibers in the range of one-eighth to three-eighths inches long (above the backing), afiber diameter in the range of 2 to 10 mils with a density of 2,000 to 8,000 per square inch has been found suitable. Within these ranges, the density can be less with thicker and/orlonger fibers and vice-versa. The

The pile is oriented longitudinally toward one end of mat portion 10. If only one hole assembly 11 is used, it has been found preferable to provide the carpeting for assembly 11 so that the pile is oriented toward mat portion 10. When two hole assemblies 11a and 11b are used as in FIG..2, the pile is preferably oriented in the same direction as in mat portion A desirable carpet material manufactured by the Callaway Mills Company of LaGrange, Ga. is Vibronic Carpeting style A-5 l l A partial section of golf ball 25 in FIG. 3 demonstrates how a bunching up of the pile fibers at the leading edge of a ball rolling against the orientation, impedes the movement.

A cross-section of putting hole assembly 1 l is shown in FIG. 4. Underneath carpet backing 21, additional thick layer 30 of foam plastic can be used to allow for depth in hole 12. Layer 30 can also be continuous over the length of the mat or tapered to increasing thickness toward the end of assembly 11. Further small foam plastic pad 31 has been found desirable immediately around the hole both to increase hole depth and increase difficulty of play. Pad 31 can also be tapered in the same direction as suggested for layer 30. The combined thickness of backing 21 and layers 30 and 31 at hole 12 can vary from about A inch to 1 inch or more. Less than one-half inch is a poor trap for the ball and more than 1 inch is unnecessarily thick.

FIG. 5 depicts the mat of FIG. 1 in longitudinal section. In the depicted section, foam layer 30 is continued over the length of mat portion 10. Putting hole assembly 11 is detachable and can be transferred to the opposite end of portion 10. A simple method of attaching and detaching assembly 11 is depicted using Velcro," a fastening fabric available from the American Thread Company. Strips 33 and 35 of Velcro are attached to end edges 37 and 38 of mat portion with the fastening surfaces exposed facing down. Strip 34 of velcro" is secured (i.e. with cement) to the edge of assembly 11 with about three-fourths inch of the fastening surface exposed facing up. Assembly 1 1 can be attached and removed from either end as desired by means of the velcro" fasteners. Snaps or other means can also be used.

While the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, this has been for descriptive purposes only. Many different sizes and shapes of this mat are contemplated as well as many variations in the particular design of the putting hole and its means of elevation. Thus it is intended to claim the invention broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A simulated putting green providing both fast and slow green conditions comprising in combination:

a. an elongated mat of grass-simulating pile fabric in which the pile comprises monofilament synthetic fibers 2 to 10 mils in diameter with 2,000 to 8,000 fibers per square inch, said fibers extending one-eighth to three-eighths inches above the mat backing and being oriented between 5 and 15 ofi normal toward one end of the mat whereby a golf ball moving toward a first end of said mat will be retarded in simulation of normal slow green condition and a golf ball moving toward a second end of said mat will be retarded in simulation of normal fast green condition; and, a putting hole at said first end for putting under slow conditions and a putting hole at said second end for putting under fast conditions.

2. A simulated putting green according to claim 1 wherein said putting holes are in detachable portions of said mat, said portions interlocking with the remainder of said mat by interlocking segments carrying self-adhering materials for securely engaging said detachable portions. 

1. A simulated putting green providing both fast and slow green conditions comprising in combination: a. an elongated mat of grass-simulating pile fabric in which the pile comprises monofilament synthetic fibers 2 to 10 mils in diameter with 2,000 to 8,000 fibers per square inch, said fibers extending one-eighth to three-eighths inches above the mat backing and being oriented between 5* and 15* off normal toward one end of the mat whereby a golf ball moving toward a first end of said mat will be retarded in simulation of normal slow green condition and a golf ball moving toward a second end of said mat will be retarded in simulation of normal fast green condition; and, b. a putting hole at said first end for putting under slow conditions and a putting hole at said second end for putting under fast conditions.
 2. A simulated putting green according to claim 1 wherein said putting holes are in detachable portions of said mat, said portions interlocking with the remainder of said mat by interlocking segments carrying self-adhering materials for securely engaging said detachable portions. 